LSU gymnastics falls short to Florida in high-scoring, back-and-forth contest

LSU gymnastics comes up short to No. 4 Florida, with a 198.450-198.325 loss on the road during the Gators’ senior night on Sunday. 

This meet was as familiar a meet as LSU knows, as a rough start put the Tigers in a hole that they fought so hard to get out of all meet. 

LSU opened the meet on bars, with Lexi Zeiss leading off. Her 9.700 was followed by Ashley Cowan. After a fall, a 9.300 would flash for the Tigers. 

LSU needed to drop that. And Madi Ulrich stepped up and provided a “mistake eraser,” as Jay Clark would say. 

She would start a streak of 9.900s, with Kailin Chio and Courtney Blackson adding fuel to the fire. 

But that streak would end with Konnor McClain. 

She landed a 9.975 to match her season high on bars and cap the first rotation, bringing LSU back to tie with Florida at 49.375. 

Then the Tigers took a trip to vault for the second rotation, where they’d score a season-high 49.700. 

It started when Zeiss went and posted a 9.825 to set the tone of the event. 

And her team took her lead and ran with it. 

McClain went next, matching another season high this meet with a 9.925 on vault. 

Victoria Roberts made her way back into the lineup in the third spot, and she scored a 9.850. But then, a season-high 9.975 for Lincoln would turn the rotation on its head. 

LSU would find two more 9.975s from Drayton and Chio to end the rotation and earn a season-high on vault. 

The strong second rotation led LSU’s push for the lead in the meet, hitting the halfway point with a .075 lead, 99.075 to Florida’s 99.000. 

LSU’s next event was floor, where it holds the top ranking in the country. 

It started with a 9.850 from Emily Innes, and Nina Ballou followed with a 9.875. 

Kylie Coen then took the event to the next level for her team, scoring a 9.925. 

LSU wouldn’t dip under 9.9 to end the rotation. 

Drayton was next, and she did what she does, scoring a 9.900. Chio followed with a 9.925. 

Florida’s Selena Harris-Miranda would earn a perfect 10 to end the Gators’ beam rotation, setting up a .150 lead over LSU. 

With Innes’ 9.850 being calculated as dropped, Lincoln needed a 10 to tie the Gators. 

And as Lincoln started her routine, Florida's arena received word of Harris-Miranda’s 10 on beam and exploded. But Lincoln stayed calm and still did exactly her thing and put up a 9.975, putting LSU behind by just .025 as the final rotation approached. 

LSU spent the final rotation on beam, with Florida on floor. 

Coen started beam off with a 9.825, but Zeiss would follow that up with a 9.875 of her own. 

After two routines for each school, LSU needed to get over the 9.9 hump. Florida had posted a 9.900 and 9.925, just extending that lead slowly but surely. 

But it changed with Drayton’s career-high 9.950 in the third spot. 

She set up the back half of the lineup as LSU pushed to get back the lead in this meet. 

After Drayton’s routine, Lincoln would follow with a 9.950 of her own, and then McClain would perform a beautiful beam routine, but a late step back on her landing would put a 9.900 onto the board for her. 

Florida still has not dropped below a 9.9 on floor up to Chio’s routine, but Chio made sure she did everything she could to put her team in the lead. 

A 9.975 from Chio would end LSU on a very good note, but it wouldn’t be enough to top Florida on its senior night. 

LSU’s next meet is back home in the PMAC for their own senior night versus Arkansas. The meet starts at 7:30 p.m. CT.